Bananas are a staple in most Americans’ diets, but there are a lot of conspiracy theories about the fruit. And after a startling discovery, two TikTokers went viral after claiming that their Dole and Chiquita bananas aren’t what they seem.
What’s wrong with the bananas?
User TheRockHoundAdventures (@therockhoundadventures) posted the TikTok, which amassed 566,600 views as of this writing. The video consisted of two clips showing apparent “evidence” that the bananas were fake.
The first clip featured a man in what appears to be a restaurant kitchen, showing viewers both Dole and Chiquita bananas. He demonstrated to viewers how the bananas bent, had a dry and tacky texture, and had a “weird gumminess” to them. The man also noted that the fibers were “different” and claimed the fruit didn’t even taste sweet.
“Bananas don’t do this. It’s so weird,” he added. “It’s almost like silly putty in your hand.”
The clip then cuts to a woman with a pile of bananas. She says that when she opened them, she found that they were all split down the middle. “This does not look like a banana,” she added.
TheRockHoundAdventures did not immediately respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comment via TikTok comment. The Dot was unable to find any other method of contact.
Viewers say it’s a result of food science
In the comments section, viewers were rife with conspiracy theories of their own. “Ask Bill Gates,” one quipped. “They are removing all the seeds so we can’t grow our own food,” another claimed.
@therockhoundadventures I don’t know if anybody else has noticed but bananas are completely different than what they used to be 😳😳😳😳😳 after four bunches of bananas we decided to not sell bananas today in our real fruit smoothies, 😩👀👀👀😔 #fakefruit #bioengineered #4011 ##bananas ##fakefood ♬ Human – Rex Banner
Are the bananas actually fake?
The type of bananas sold by Dole and Chiquita (and everyone, in fact) are called Cavendish bananas. According to Bananageddon, these bananas are cloned from one single banana, which means that they all have the same genetic qualities as the ‘parent’ banana.
While this causes a myriad of problems, like making bananas more vulnerable to disease, this also means that it’s technically impossible for bananas to be ‘fake’ because how can something be fake if they’ve all got the exact same makeup?
Still, this hasn’t stopped other TikTokers from having the same suspicions. Gaming streamer @hunterkiotv went viral after he and his mother shared their concerns about bananas from Costco.
While the bananas seemed normal at face value, the TikToker made a startling discovery. “[W]hen she opens it, and she breaks it in half, it gets very tough and doesn’t really break,” he said. “And when it pulls, it’s, like, it’s glue. It’s very tight and doughy.”
He continued, “I’ve never, ever seen a banana like that. I don’t know if it’s just our banana, or if it’s this brand from Costco. But at the end of the day, it looks very, very fake and Play-Doh-y.”
Dole and Chiquita did not immediately respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comment via email.
Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
